Butternut Squash and Coconut Milk Soup

It is finally starting to feel like fall here in New York, which is nice because I am in the mood to start cooking with fall flavors. As I mentioned in my last post, its been harder to find time to cook during the week now that I am back at NYU. So, I try to cook a few things on the weekend that I can warm back up during the week. One of the best make-ahead meals for autumn is soup. They are easy to heat up, can warm you up, and offer endless possibilities to play with the seasons flavors.

This past week I made a batch of one of my favorite fall soups, Butternut Squash and Coconut Milk Soup, which is actually my mother’s recipe. Since its also the season of family get togethers it seems appropriate to share a family members recipe. Plus it is very good.

Last fall when I was living in Russia I repeatedly tried to make this soup, but it never came out right. You can find butternut squash in Omsk, but it is quite expensive and only sold at one store, so I tired making it with pumpkin which is everywhere and cheap. This did not create the same full flavor and is a substitution I do not recommend. The other problem I ran into is that I could not find cannellini beans at any store in the city, so I made do with a small white bean that lacked the creaminess of the cannellini. Eventually, I had to give up on making it. This year I am excited to be able to easily find all the ingredients and once again make it one of my go to soups. 

As you will see in the recipe below, it is an easy and fast soup to put together. I hope you enjoy it!

Butternut Squash and Coconut Milk Soup

Ingredients:
1 medium butternut squash
2 1/2 c. vegetable broth
1 c. coconut milk
1 can cannellini beans (with liquid)
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. sage

Directions:

1. Precook the squash either by roasting it in the oven or microwaving it. For both, cut the squash in half lengthwise and place in a glass dish. To roast set your oven to 400 and rub the cut side of the squash with olive oil. To Microwave put a 1/2 inch of water in the bottom of the dish and cover with saran wrap (leave a small opening for the steam to escape).
2. Add all the ingredients except the coconut milk to a large soup pot. 
3. Using an immersion blender, blend the ingredients until smooth.*
4. Bring the blended soup to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Let it simmer for 5-10 minutes to blend the flavors.
5. Lower the fire and add the coconut milk. Let it come together for another 5 minutes and then serve.
6. If you are reheating the soup later it is best not to bring it all the way to a boil. It reheats fine in the microwave as well. 

* It you do not have an immersion blender you could put all the ingredients (minus the coconut milk) into a blender before putting them into the soup pot.